The Bundesliga match between Nuremberg and VfL Wolfsburg had to be abandoned at halftime after torrential rain made the pitch unplayable.

Relegation threatened Nuremberg were leading 1-0 after a 35th minute goal from Ivan Saenko (pictured) when the players went in at half-time.

With the weather getting worse, referee Jochen Drees ordered a temporary halt before deciding to call the game off about an hour after the end of the first half.

"Abandoning a match is always the final choice," the referee said in a report on the German Football Association website.

"The normal running of the game and the well-being of the players must be assured and that was no longer possible in this case."

Reuters